9:37 PM,
Oct. 29, 2013

The biggest car-loan growth is coming in IOUs lasting up to 84 months, according to Experian Automotive. Buyers are shifting to longer terms to get lower payments as new cars rise in price and drivers keep their old cars longer.

Written by

Chris Woodyard
| USA Today

More new-car buyers are stretching out their loan payments for as many as seven years, and some experts worry that's another financial time bomb.

Not so long ago ads touted 48-month loans. Today the biggest growth is coming in loans lasting up to 84 months - longer than most people are expected to want to keep their new car.

The longest-term new-car loans - 73 to 84 months - have jumped 25.1 percent in the past year and now make up 19.5 percent of total new-car lending, according to Experian Automotive. All other loan-length categories, in fact, have become less popular as buyers shift to longer ...